The Cecil Whig., 1887-11-26
A WONDERFUL BOY PREACHER.

Pascal Porter, OF Indiana, Is the Marvel of
All Who Hear Him.
From the Indianapolis Ners.
Is it simply wonderful feat of men,
orzing, or is it inspiration ? is the ques-
ton every one who has heard Pascal
Porter, the boy preacher, is asking.
This prodigy IS product Of Jefferson
county, and IS not eleven years old.
When not in the pulpit he is the most
ordinary of ordinary boys, possessing
nothing that would distinguish him from
hundreds of other boys seen through
out the country. In fact, the cursory
observer would place him below the
average of Indiana boys. While in
state of repose he is listless, with dull
looking eyes and expressionless coun-
tenance. He walks with an awkward,
shambling gait, not appearing to notice
those things which generally attract the
attention of boys of his age. Placed
with any dozen boys of his neighbor-
hood he would be chosen out as the
stupid one of the lot Yet this awk-
ward country boy, with his shambling
gait, listless air, and dull look, is one
of the wonders Of this country. He is
a preacher, and the leading preacher
of his peculiar sect, and if his sermons
are his own production he is the lead
ing preacher in Indiana of any denom
ination. He is lecturer, and if his
lectures are original, he is far ahead of
any man who is now on the platform in
this country. This may sound like
rhapsody, but it is the verdict of every
one who has heard him. He is plain
country boy, with little or no education,
and yet in his sermons and lectures he
uses language equal to the most pol
ished and cultured Of the present day.
His thoughts are those of strong and
original thinker, and his words are well
chosen and those of all others that
ought to have been used, expressing
his thoughts clearly and strongly. His
sermons are logical in their arrange
ment and show wonderful anG most
intimate acquaintance with the holy
Scriptures.
Not only do his sermons display an
intimate acquaintance with the Bible,
but with current history, and he takes
up and applies current events to eluci-
date and make plain his topic and en-
force his teachings. Nor is this all.
They display most remarkable COM
prehension of the Scriptures. When
he states proposition he backs it up
and enforces it with quotations from
the Bible that are exceedingly we'll
chosen for the purpose.
As l SAID, out Of the pulpit he is the
most ordinary of boys but when he
enters the sacred desk a transformation
takes place. His face lights up and
fairly glows. His dull eyes sparkle
with enthusiasm and intelligence. His
awkward and shuffling manner leaves
him, and he is a new creature. When
ne prays it is with a simple, childlike
earnestness and deep pathos, that melts
all hearts. He prays as if he were ask
ing favors from one with whom he was
on terms of familiar and loving inter
course. His God is one who is not
afar off, but who Is very near, and in
whose love he has the supremest conf
dence. Hence he prays to Him as
such. His prayers, if uttered in one
OF our city pulpts, would give the hear
CTS new luSdS Vi "ildt tllC OdVlOui lllCdlll
when he spoke of those who should
worship him in the spirit. He an
nounces his text in the same earnest
manner, and without any apologies or
attempts to show off proceeds at once
to elucidate his text. He breaches
from his text, and in this differs from
most of the preachers of the present
day, for their texts are never heard of
after the reading of them. In many
cases any verse in the Bible would have
suited their sermon, as well as the text
they announced, but 1t is not so with
this boy preacher. His text furnishes
the ground work and foundation of his
discourseS.
He belongs to that peculiar sect
known as "Soul Sleepers." The doc
trine that at the death of the body the
soul went into sleep and remained in
that condition until the final resurrec-
ton, when it would be united with the
body, obtained an early foothold among
the followers of Christ, and numbered
among them many earnest advocates.
One thing is certain-there is not a
preacher in Indianapolis who would
not gladly father his sermons.
He has recently delivered two lee
lures in Madison before large and cul-
tivated audiences-one on temperance
and the other on the history and char
acter of the Jewish race-that were
marvels, and won the unbounded ap-
plause of the audiences. Like his ser
mons, the lectures were models of
style, diction and eloquence, while that
on the Jewish race displayed an erudi-
ton that astonished every one. AS
said before, the language he uses is that
of ono ubo hoe fbo,,oht Iopu and well